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A tool, an agency, an in-house hire, or a department.
Four honest ways to get growth work done, laid out on the same lines. Where another option is the better choice, we say so. The install call is wasted otherwise.
Who looked at your ads this week
A typical week. Filled squares are days someone actually made a decision.
A tool
Only when you remember to ask
An agency
A weekly check-in, business hours
A department
6:00 brief, hourly checks, every day
An example week. Nova posts the morning brief at 6:00 and a change summary every hour, seven days a week.
Growth Dept vs Viktor
Viktor is a hire you direct. Growth Dept is the department, installed.
Viktor is an AI employee that lives in your Slack or Teams, connects to 3,200+ apps, and will write, analyze and buy media on Meta and Google when you ask. It is self-serve, SOC 2 certified, used by 50,000+ teams, and costs $50 a month plus credits for each task. It is a good product. It is also a different thing.
| Line | Viktor | Growth Dept |
|---|---|---|
| Who runs it | You do. You ask, it does. | Nova works from a schedule you can see, and a human growth executive reviews the numbers with you every week. |
| Ad platforms | Meta and Google, on request. | Six platforms, every ad judged every morning. |
| Optimizes to | The platform's own number. | What each ad actually brought in across every store, Amazon included. The platform's number is shown next to it, labeled. |
| Amazon | Not covered. | Listings, ads, best-seller rank, Buy Box, stock and reviews across nine marketplaces. |
| Creators and creative | Ad copy and images when you ask for them. | Creator outreach on TikTok Shop, new ads staged every week, and winning videos re-cut for every other platform. |
| Email and SMS | Drafts an email when you ask. | Six flows built and tested in Klaviyo, campaigns on your calendar, deliverability watched. |
| Your data | Pulled live from their connections, kept in their cloud. | Every number from every store, marketplace and ad account in one place, on a machine you own. |
| Claude | Uses AI models behind the scenes. | Claude connected to your business, so anyone on the team can ask it a question from their laptop. |
| Approvals | Confirms before big actions. | Every change arrives in Slack with before and after. Nothing moves until you tap Approve. |
| Where it runs | Their cloud. | A machine we build and ship to your office. It is your property from day one. |
| Pricing | $50 a month plus credits per task. | One flat fee from $10,000 a month. No credits, no percentage of ad spend. |
| Best for | Any team that wants a capable generalist it can direct. | Ecommerce brands from $3M to $100M that want growth run every day. |
Who runs it
Nova works from a schedule you can see, and a human growth executive reviews the numbers with you every week.
Ad platforms
Six platforms, every ad judged every morning.
Optimizes to
What each ad actually brought in across every store, Amazon included. The platform's number is shown next to it, labeled.
Amazon
Listings, ads, best-seller rank, Buy Box, stock and reviews across nine marketplaces.
Creators and creative
Creator outreach on TikTok Shop, new ads staged every week, and winning videos re-cut for every other platform.
Email and SMS
Six flows built and tested in Klaviyo, campaigns on your calendar, deliverability watched.
Your data
Every number from every store, marketplace and ad account in one place, on a machine you own.
Claude
Claude connected to your business, so anyone on the team can ask it a question from their laptop.
Approvals
Every change arrives in Slack with before and after. Nothing moves until you tap Approve.
Where it runs
A machine we build and ship to your office. It is your property from day one.
Pricing
One flat fee from $10,000 a month. No credits, no percentage of ad spend.
Best for
Ecommerce brands from $3M to $100M that want growth run every day.
Viktor column from its public product pages, August 2026. Growth Dept column is what runs for our six brands today.
vs an agency, vs a tool
Same fourteen lines. Three very different answers.
A tool answers when you ask and keeps your data in its cloud. An agency gives you people and a monthly deck, billed as a percentage of ad spend. A department is there every day, on a machine you own, and has posted before you wake up.
| Line | A tool | An agency | A department |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you get | An assistant you have to remember to ask | A team and a monthly deck | Nova every day, plus a human executive |
| Who does the work | You, typing prompts | Their account team, on their schedule | Nova, on a schedule you can see, with your approval |
| Getting started | Sign up in minutes | A kickoff deck, then four to eight weeks | In your Slack in a week, everything running in thirty days |
| Your data | In their cloud | In their tools and spreadsheets | In one place, on a machine you own |
| Ask Claude | Chat only | No | Claude connected to your real numbers |
| Media buying | Meta and Google, when you ask | Human buyers, checked weekly | Six platforms, every ad judged daily |
| Optimizes to | The platform's number | Platform return, in a deck | What the ad actually brought in across every store |
| Amazon | Not covered | Usually a separate vendor | Listings, ads, rank, Buy Box, stock and reviews |
| Creators and creative | Copy on request | A creative retainer on top | Creator outreach and new ads staged every week |
| Email and SMS | A draft when you ask | Usually a separate retainer | Six flows built and tested; campaigns on your calendar |
| Approvals | Confirm in the chat | Trust | Before and after in Slack; you tap Approve |
| Reports | When you ask | A monthly deck | Morning brief, hourly change log, weekly review |
| Pricing | Credits per task | Retainer plus a percentage of ad spend | Flat monthly fee from $10,000 |
| If you leave | Export your chats | An offboarding call | Everything keeps running. It is yours. |
What you get
Nova every day, plus a human executiveWho does the work
Nova, on a schedule you can see, with your approvalGetting started
In your Slack in a week, everything running in thirty daysYour data
In one place, on a machine you ownAsk Claude
Claude connected to your real numbersMedia buying
Six platforms, every ad judged dailyOptimizes to
What the ad actually brought in across every storeAmazon
Listings, ads, rank, Buy Box, stock and reviewsCreators and creative
Creator outreach and new ads staged every weekEmail and SMS
Six flows built and tested; campaigns on your calendarApprovals
Before and after in Slack; you tap ApproveReports
Morning brief, hourly change log, weekly reviewPricing
Flat monthly fee from $10,000If you leave
Everything keeps running. It is yours.
Every line in the department column is something Nova already does for the six brands we run.
vs hiring in-house
Three good hires, or the department they would have built.
An in-house growth team is the right call for some brands, and the Department package sits happily alongside one. Some brands plan to hire three people so that one day they have daily media buying, Amazon covered and one place for their numbers. Here is what the two paths look like side by side.
Hiring in-house
A growth lead, a media buyer and an analyst
- People
- Three searches, three offers, three onboardings
- Cost
- Typically $300k to $450k a year fully loaded, before tools
- First morning report
- Typically four to seven months from the first job post
- Hours covered
- Business hours, five days a week
- Amazon
- Usually a fourth hire or an outside vendor
- If someone leaves
- The knowledge leaves with them
Department package
Nova, your machine and a named growth executive
- People
- Nova on the day-to-day, one named executive on the numbers
- Cost
- $17,500 a month, $210,000 a year, plus a one-time machine build
- First morning report
- Within a week of the first call
- Hours covered
- Every day, every hour, including weekends
- Amazon
- Listings, ads, rank, Buy Box, stock and reviews included
- If you leave
- The machine, Nova, the data and the playbooks stay with you
What a year costs
Three in-house hires (low and high end) against the Department package
Typical fully loaded US ranges for three senior ecommerce growth roles, not quotes. Department is list price times twelve.
Weeks until the first morning report
Three in-house hires (fast and typical) against the Department package
Typical hiring and ramp times for three senior roles, not a guarantee. Nova is in your Slack within a week of the first call.
The Department package is $17,500 per month. The machine is built once, at a fixed price quoted before you sign. Your market and the seniority you hire at will move the in-house numbers; the shape of the comparison does not change much.
What only a department has
Six things you do not get from a tool, an agency or a hire.
Each of these runs today for the six brands we manage. They are the reason the tables above read the way they do.
Six ad platforms, every day
Meta, Google, Amazon, TikTok, Snapchat and AppLovin. Every ad judged every morning; budget moved to what is working.
Best-seller rank, 8 months
Amazon, fully handled
Listings kept healthy, ads run daily, best-seller rank and Buy Box watched every hour, restocks planned, reviews read. Nine marketplaces.
Creators and the creative bridge
Creators found and paid on TikTok Shop; their winning videos re-cut into ads on Meta, TikTok, Snapchat, AppLovin and YouTube.
Your numbers in one place, on your machine
Every store, marketplace, ad account and email tool in one place, on a machine we build and ship to you. Yours outright.
Repeat customers were 31% of orders last month, up from 26%. Email drove most of the lift.
Claude, connected to your business
Anyone on your team asks Claude a plain question and gets an answer from your real numbers. Same numbers Nova uses in Slack.
Holden, growth executive
Weekly review, Mondays 9:00
A human on the hook
A named growth executive sets and reviews Nova's limits, runs the weekly review, replies the same day on weekdays and answers for the numbers. Not a support inbox.
Next step
Meet Nova. Book a 45-minute call.
Bring your store URL and the numbers you already trust. You'll leave with a written plan: what Nova takes on first, what it costs, and when she's in your Slack.